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How to update OOS 5.1.6, Install official TWRP and magisk - tested working!

Hi guys,
Here is my complete foolproof guide on how to update your system. Please note that there may be other maybe easier ways that cut-out some steps but this worked for me. It is intended for Noobies so I apologise to more advanced users if it seems tedious and long-winded. But that's how Noobies like it with everything explained in detail.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have previously used parallel apps then before doing any of this process you must delete user 999 from the system, otherwise you backups will not work!!!
From a terminal window (I use terminal emulator from play store ) type su and enter. Now type the command pm remove-user 999 and enter. Now you shouldn't have to worry about parallel apps messing up your backups.
Thanks to @dgunn for this :good:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/on...estore-999-t3801632/post76760812#post76760812
Also, please note that I have NEVER previously installed an un-official twrp on my device (wanted to wait for official ), however, I was unlocked, and rooted with magisk v16.0 and on stock oos 5.1.5 before beginning this upgrade process.
If you already have an un-official twrp installed, then I cannot guarantee that this guide will work for you. It might, it might not
Disclaimer: This is a guide for helping others. It is your choice to follow it and I take no responsibility for any problems you encounter as a result of following this guide. You do it at your own risk
Ok, lets get started......................
Actually, before we do let's get one thing clear that is confusing a lot of people regarding fastboot and twrp. There are 2 ways of putting twrp recovery onto your phone. A temporary way (disappears after rebooting and goes back to stock recovery) and a permanent way (the best way that stays put - what we all want right?). This guide assumes that you don't currently have twrp on your phone.
In order to put a permanent official twrp on your phone, first we have to boot (NOT flash!) into a temporary version of twrp. The fastboot command for this is "fastboot boot path_to_temporary_twrp.img" (without the quotes of course )
The difference between temporary twrp and permanent twrp is in whether we either fastboot boot or fastboot flash.
Ok, let's begin
First of all, as a precaution, disable all security on your device like pin, pattern, password, fingerprint. Make sure that when you wake your phone it goes straight to the homescreen without any prompts for pins etc etc. May not be needed but it's what I did
1. Download the following files to the following locations....
a. Official oxygen OS 5.1.6 zip file (full zip) > to root of sdcard .
b. Official twrp installer ZIP file > to root of sdcard. (This is our permanent twrp file)
c. Magisk root zip file (I used v 16.0 but v16.4 zip file should be okay too) > to root of sdcard.
d. Official twrp installer IMG file > to your PC in the same folder as your fastboot files. (This is our temporary twrp file)
These files are available for download in other threads on XDA just search for them.
Once that is done proceed as follows.....
2. Go to settings>system updates and click the gear icon in the top right and choose "local upgrade" and then select the Oxygen 5.1.6 zip file from your sdcard. The system will now begin to update itself. Once finished it will prompt you to reboot, do this, and the system will boot back up into Oxygen OS 5.1.6 :good:
3. Now, long press your power button and select reboot and select bootloader option and your phone will reboot into bootloader (fastboot) mode.
4. On your PC go to your fastboot folder and open a command prompt in that folder (don't forget you previously put the temporary twrp image file in here)
5. Now plug your phone into the PC
6. At the command prompt enter following command fastboot devices
and your phone should show up as connected and recognised.
7. We are now going to boot the phone into the temporary twrp. Type the following command fastboot boot <name of temporary twrp file (from your fastboot folder)>.img
8. Your phone will now boot into the temporary twrp recovery and from here we can now flash the permanent version of twrp that we previously put on our sdcard.
9. On your phone, select Install, then find the twrp zip file on the root of your sdcard, select it and swipe to flash.
10. Once this has flashed successfully, we now need to reboot into this new permanent recovery. DO NOT REBOOT TO SYSTEM AT THIS POINT! Now, select "Reboot" option and select "Recovery". Your phone will now reboot into the new permanent twrp. You can now forget about the other temporary twrp from earlier
11. Once the phone goes back into recovery select Install option and find the Magisk root zip file on your sdcard and select it. Now swipe to flash it. After successfully flashing Magisk, you are now ready to enjoy the fruits of your labours
Go back to the twrp homepage and select Reboot>system.
The system will now boot normally and if you have followed these steps to a Tee you will be on OOS 5.1.6 and rooted!
I have also done a successful twrp backup without any error messages. Your previous data will be untouched and you can now set-up your security again.
One final thing to note - because the boot and recovery partitions are now combined, this means that everytime you flash something to your boot partition, your new permanent twrp recovery will be lost and you will have to re-install twrp again from scratch initially through fastboot.
Enjoy

carlos67 said:
From a terminal window (I use terminal emulator from play store ) type su and enter. Now type the command pm remove_user 999 and enter. Now you shouldn't have to worry about parallel apps messing up your backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bet the terminal command should be:
pm remove-user 999

I've made almost the same without problem

After many years of being actively involved in unlocking, flashing, and tinkering. I feel I'm starting from scratch. This quick guide is exactly what I've been waiting for as I'm in the same situation with being simply unlocked and rooted lol. I'll be replicating these steps shortly ?.
Only thing I'm wondering, once everything is done and running... If I flash a rom with the official "permanent" twrp, it's gone gone? Let's just say, renovate ice ROM?
Maybe it's the 16 hour day I worked and lack of sleep... But having it replaced upon a single rom flash and carrying the name "permanent" seems like 2 opposing ideas lol

Kiddman said:
I bet the terminal command should be:
pm remove-user 999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, well spotted and corrected :good:
InflatedTitan said:
After many years of being actively involved in unlocking, flashing, and tinkering. I feel I'm starting from scratch. This quick guide is exactly what I've been waiting for as I'm in the same situation with being simply unlocked and rooted lol. I'll be replicating these steps shortly ?.
Only thing I'm wondering, once everything is done and running... If I flash a rom with the official "permanent" twrp, it's gone gone? Let's just say, renovate ice ROM?
Maybe it's the 16 hour day I worked and lack of sleep... But having it replaced upon a single rom flash and carrying the name "permanent" seems like 2 opposing ideas lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were to flash a full OTA official update then yes, your "permanent" twrp will be gone because the boot partition gets flashed to stock and you'd need to re-install twrp starting in fastboot. However, for custom rom flashes, it depends if their is a kernel bundled in with the rom. If not then twrp should remain, if yes then as with official update, re-install twrp.
It's more normal for a custom rom to simply overwrite system partition without touching boot partition and twrp, but, sometimes custom rom's like Renovate come bundled with a kernel (TBalden's) and wipe out twrp.
If I'm wrong on this I stand to be corrected.

Kiddman said:
I bet the terminal command should be:
pm remove-user 999
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you are correct because this was my finding and thank you OP for not giving credit
My findings of the 255 error (999)
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/how-to/255-error-twrp-backup-restore-999-t3801632

dgunn said:
Yes you are correct because this was my finding and thank you OP for not giving credit
My findings of the 255 error (999)
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-6/how-to/255-error-twrp-backup-restore-999-t3801632
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My apologies, an oversight, corrected

carlos67 said:
My apologies, an oversight, corrected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you sir. And great write up btw

Something to note is the Renovate ICE 1.0 magisk module messed with the text in settings on OOS 5.1.6. It went back to normal when I disabled that module.
I thought it was the VoEnabler module initially but I wasnt correct.

I put the zip in the root folder (Not the actual folder named root) but the local upgrade isn't showing anything in there.
I'm on 5.1.5 rooted with Magisk 16.0 and have 5.7 magisk manager installed along with xposed and gravity box.
Any idea why my local upgrade isn't detecting the upgrade zip? I downloaded it from Funk Wizards post. I got clicked the "official" link for OOS 5.1.6

I have a custom kernel and magisk installed, can I still follow this guide?

surface13 said:
I put the zip in the root folder (Not the actual folder named root) but the local upgrade isn't showing anything in there.
I'm on 5.1.5 rooted with Magisk 16.0 and have 5.7 magisk manager installed along with xposed and gravity box.
Any idea why my local upgrade isn't detecting the upgrade zip? I downloaded it from Funk Wizards post. I got clicked the "official" link for OOS 5.1.6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Figured it out, it was because the ro.product.device=OnePlus 6 instead of OnePlus6 in the build.prop file.
I had originally changed it to sailfish to see if I can get Daydream working. When I changed it back I accidentally added a space =/

Anyone done this on a phone with unofficial TWRP to start out yet?

Lownita said:
I have a custom kernel and magisk installed, can I still follow this guide?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can.

Considering that many of us have been rooted with patched boot image and no custom recovery, this guide is very well written.

Simple Guide is Already available | No Root | No Rom
youtube.com/watch?v=a7rh4NpYD7E
I followed the above youtube guide . Very simple .
Steps :
Install VPN app like Surf Easy Android VPN
Change Region to Canada or Germany
Again try to update the Oxygen OS
It will show in update available .

"
2. Go to settings>system updates and click the gear icon in the top right and choose "local upgrade" and then select the Oxygen 5.1.6 zip file from your sdcard. The system will now begin to update itself. Once finished it will prompt you to reboot, do this, and the system will boot back up into Oxygen OS 5.1.6
"
After that I got constant reboot with the message " System UI has stopped"

x111 said:
"
2. Go to settings>system updates and click the gear icon in the top right and choose "local upgrade" and then select the Oxygen 5.1.6 zip file from your sdcard. The system will now begin to update itself. Once finished it will prompt you to reboot, do this, and the system will boot back up into Oxygen OS 5.1.6
"
After that I got constant reboot with the message " System UI has stopped"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be a corrupt download file. I suggest you do the following.....
Re-download the file and check it's good using an MD5 checker app/tool. Then, boot your phone into bootloader (fastboot) mode by powering off first and then pressing and holding the vol up button.
Then follow steps 4-to-10 in my guide for installing (1st) temporary twrp and then (2nd) permanent twrp. Once you have permanent twrp and are booted into it you should then copy the "new" download zip for the OTA that you md5 checked from your PC onto the root of your sdcard and install it by flashing the zip file in twrp. Now you should reboot to system which will change the active slot to the updated OOS you just flashed and then if you want boot back into recovery to flash a custom kernel (if you so wish) and Magisk root zip (again if you so wish).

carlos67 said:
Could be a corrupt download file. I suggest you do the following.....
Re-download the file and check it's good using an MD5 checker app/tool. Then, boot your phone into bootloader (fastboot) mode by powering off first and then pressing and holding the vol up button.
Then follow steps 4-to-10 in my guide for installing (1st) temporary twrp and then (2nd) permanent twrp. Once you have permanent twrp and are booted into it you should then copy the "new" download zip for the OTA that you md5 checked from your PC onto the root of your sdcard and install it by flashing the zip file in twrp. Now you should reboot to system which will change the active slot to the updated OOS you just flashed and then if you want boot back into recovery to flash a custom kernel (if you so wish) and Magisk root zip (again if you so wish).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for response.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76773727&postcount=153

Followed the procedure: Installed EX Kernel as well. Now I'm getting a popup message after every reboot: There's an internal problem with your device. Contact your manufacturer for details.
No issues as such but I'm getting this message everytime I reboot. Any suggestions?

Advanced OTA keeping Magisk and TWRP (needs a computer)

History...
I originally wrote this guide to upgrade from 10.0.4.0 to 10.0.7.0.
I have also used this same guide to install every OTA from 10.0.7.0 to 11.0.11.0.
This guide assumes you have both Magisk and TWRP, that Magisk cannot "uninstall" (because of TWRP installation) and that you want to keep both Magisk and TWRP after installation. Parts of this guide may still be useful if you aren't in this exact situation.
If you only have Magisk, you should be able to follow these much simpler instructions: https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-a2-lite/how-to/guide-install-magisk-proper-support-ota-t3836952
Things to have on hand:
- vanilla_boot.img (for the version you currently have)
- patched_boot.img (your current boot image with Magisk)
- TWRP img and zip (see version info below)
I think that TWRP also causes the vendor partition to be modified. It may also touch system but I have a modified bootanimation.zip which modifies system, so I can't be sure. In any case, I also have a backup of system.img and vendor.img.
Because Magisk is installed after TWRP, Magisk's "backup" of the "stock boot image" is not vanilla. This means that in order to take the OTA, I have to flash the vanilla boot image.
0 - Update your patched_boot.img
If you don't have a patched_boot.img for your current Magisk (eg. my patched_boot.img was old, since I had installed several Magisk updates), you should build a new patched_boot.img so that when you boot it, the system will continue to work.
Push the vanilla image to the phone.
Code:
adb push vanilla_boot.img /sdcard
Then get Magisk to install using the "Select and Patch a File" method, select the file you uploaded. Then pull down the patched image.
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/Download/magisk_patched.img patched_boot.img
1 - Prepare to OTA
For some reason, my carrier does not like the OTA process so I always turn on Airplane mode + Wifi.
Get to fastboot and check the current slot.
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot getvar current-slot
My current slot was b
Flash the system and vendor partitions (if necessary).
Code:
fastboot flash system_b vanilla_system.img
fastboot flash vendor_b vanilla_vendor.img
Flash vanilla and boot the patched image (so that Magisk is active and the OTA can be applied).
Code:
fastboot flash boot_b vanilla_boot.img
fastboot boot patched_boot.img
2 - Do the OTA
Install OTA (DO NOT REBOOT)
If the OTA fails
If the OTA fails, you can find out which partitions it doesn't like from the logcat. If you have a fastboot image, you can reflash the affected partitions. As previously mentioned, I've had to flash all of boot, vendor and system for each OTA.
Code:
adb logcat | grep update_engine
...
07-01 06:52:38.470 E/update_engine(935): [0701/065238.470683:ERROR:delta_performer.cc(990)] The hash of the source data on disk for this operation doesn't match the expected value. This could mean that the delta update payload was targeted for another version, or that the source partition was modified after it was installed, for example, by mounting a filesystem.
07-01 06:52:38.470 E/update_engine(935): [0701/065238.470931:ERROR:delta_performer.cc(995)] Expected: sha256|hex = A4AD686D7BF628486668446221D0089BF5915DBC1158C83D30A06222FE7D2ACB
07-01 06:52:38.471 E/update_engine(935): [0701/065238.471002:ERROR:delta_performer.cc(998)] Calculated: sha256|hex = 4CADBE88EC1C019913A0B416EB9031840D4BA6B2287A3FC814A2B8B7F9871F7D
07-01 06:52:38.473 E/update_engine(935): [0701/065238.471072:ERROR:delta_performer.cc(1009)] Operation source (offset:size) in blocks: 0:5221,5461:405,5869:1,5873:343,6221:589
07-01 06:52:38.473 E/update_engine(935): [0701/065238.473233:ERROR:delta_performer.cc(1191)] ValidateSourceHash(source_hash, operation, source_fd_, error) failed.
07-01 06:52:38.473 E/update_engine(935): [0701/065238.473340:ERROR:delta_performer.cc(298)] Failed to perform BROTLI_BSDIFF operation 187, which is the operation 0 in partition "boot"
07-01 06:52:38.473 E/update_engine(935): [0701/065238.473411:ERROR:download_action.cc(337)] Error ErrorCode::kDownloadStateInitializationError (20) in DeltaPerformer's Write method when processing the received payload -- Terminating processing
07-01 06:52:38.739 E/SystemUpdate(15410): [Execution,NonStreamingAbApplyAction] Installation failed with error code: 20.
3 - Backup the vanilla boot image
Note that you need to pull from the other slot (in my case, a).
Code:
adb shell
su
dd if=/dev/block/by-name/boot_a of=/sdcard/vanilla_boot.img bs=1024k
Backup system.img and vendor.img too (if required).
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/by-name/system_a of=/sdcard/vanilla_system.img bs=1024k
dd if=/dev/block/by-name/vendor_a of=/sdcard/vanilla_vendor.img bs=1024k
4 - Magisk patch the other slot
Use Magisk to "Install to Inactive Slot (After OTA)" (DO NOT REBOOT)
5 - Backup the patched boot image
Note that you need to pull from the other slot (in my case, a).
Code:
dd if=/dev/block/by-name/boot_a of=/sdcard/patched_boot.img bs=1024k
exit
exit
# back on your computer
adb pull /sdcard/vanilla_boot.img
adb pull /sdcard/patched_boot.img
Pull down system and vendor images too (if required).
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/vanilla_system.img
adb pull /sdcard/vanilla_vendor.img
Now you can let Magisk reboot. This is the moment of truth...
At this point you should have an upgraded, Magisk-enabled system and backups of the vanilla and patched boot images. Congratulations on completing the OTA!
If the system fails to boot
There's a few things to try before giving up if the system fails to boot...
1) Boot without Magisk (fastboot boot vanilla_boot.img). Probably indicates that a Magisk module you have is no longer compatible.
2) Boot TWRP (fastboot boot twrp.img) and poke at things. As an example, I used the /sdcard/mm program (part of Magisk Manager for recovery) to disable EdXposed when the OTA to Android 10 failed to boot.
6 - Restore TWRP
It is possible to boot TWRP from fastboot so you don't strictly need to install TWRP. I like to have it available anyway.
Old version info...
I had been using the official TWRP 3.2.3, which worked great up until 10.0.9.0. With 10.0.9.0, I couldn't get to TWRP, I just got the system destroyed screen. I could fastboot boot it, but it couldn't mount /data (a problem it has always had).
I figured out that TWRP 3.3.1-dees_troy (from the official TWRP site) works with 10.0.9.0 and up. What's more, it works (can decrypt /data) if you fastboot boot it, not just after install. So you could in theory simply not install TWRP and fastboot boot if in the event that you actually need it.
I know that people have their own favourite versions, with the offain version being popular (didn't work for me). There's OrangeFox too (also didn't work for me).
In summary, I recommend Official TWRP 3.3.1-dees_troy but if you have a favourite alternative, feel free to use it instead.
TWRP thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-a2-lite/development/official-twrp-daisy-t3855396
Download link: https://dl.twrp.me/daisy/
Restoring TWRP is the same as installing it the first time. This is the process that I use.
Flash vanilla boot, then install TWRP to it.
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot boot twrp-3.3.1-dees_troy-daisy.img
Install TWRP
Code:
adb push twrp-installer-3.3.1-dees_troy-daisy.zip /sdcard
Use TWRP to install twrp-installer-3.3.1-dees_troy-daisy.zip
I install my modified bootanimation.zip at this time.
Mount System from TWRP (it is normally already mounted for me).
From a shell:
Code:
adb shell
cd /sdcard
cp bootanimation.zip /system/system/media/bootanimation.zip
Umount System
You must re-install Magisk after installing TWRP.
Code:
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot boot patched_boot.img
Use Magisk to "Direct Install (Recommended)"
Reboot
For some reason, my carrier does not like the OTA process so at this point I normally power off the phone rather than just rebooting. When the phone boots, I can turn off airplane mode and check that a mobile data connection can be made.
7 - Confirm that everything works
Make sure the system comes up and Magisk Manager says that Magisk is installed.
Make sure you can get to TWRP. Boot while holding VOL+ or
Code:
adb reboot recovery
Make sure TWRP can see your files.
Congratulations! You have installed an OTA while keeping Magisk and TWRP!
8 - Backup boot.img with TWRP + Magisk (optional)
If you want a copy of the boot.img with both Magisk and TWRP. This pulls from the now-current slot (in my case, a). I'm not totally sure of the value of this, since I can't get fastboot to boot this image. It may come in handy if you upgrade TWRP and that breaks (since you can flash this back rather than having to install the old TWRP again).
Code:
adb shell
su
cd /sdcard
dd if=/dev/block/by-name/boot_a of=twrp_boot.img bs=1024k
exit
exit
# back on the computer
adb pull /sdcard/twrp_boot.img

Thanks. Could you upload or indicate where we can get the necessary files?

Will i loose all user data and internal storage wiped if i do this?

Thanks for sharing, looks complicated, also i think you should use a fixed twrp, since the official dont have acces to sdcard.

rossarnie said:
Thanks. Could you upload or indicate where we can get the necessary files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have Magisk, you should already have the vanilla and patched boot.img files.
Of you don't already have Magisk, just follow the install procedure here. https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-a2-lite/how-to/guide-install-magisk-proper-support-ota-t3836952
If you're running 10.0.4.0 without magisk and need to extract your vanilla boot.img. Use fastboot to boot into twrp and then you can do the DD command to extract boot. Use adb pull to save it to PC.
I used official TWRP from here.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/mi-a2-lite/development/official-twrp-daisy-t3855396
Apparently there's a different twrp that can access the external SD card. I don't have an external SD card so I don't need it.

dr.bahaeddin said:
Will i loose all user data and internal storage wiped if i do this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't lose any data.
I've never had a problem with Magisk. TWRP does tend to bootloop after install, which is why I install magisk again.
You should be able to flash the patched or vanilla boot if twrp is boot looping to fix it too. Just won't have twrp anymore.

a1291762 said:
I didn't lose any data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mind you. I have a backup of my apps and data that's off of my phone so even if I do need to factory reset I can get it back. That's a longer and more complicated guide.

Txatxiquesi said:
looks complicated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before I had twrp the standard Magisk ota process was enough. But that loses twrp and with twrp in my magsik backup, the uninstall didn't work. So extra steps are needed. Plus some extra steps to make backups of important files for the next OTA

a1291762 said:
If you have Magisk, you should already have the vanilla and patched boot.img files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... This may not be the case. I'm careful to make backups but it's easy to skip this.
If you don't have a patched boot image you can backup your current boot partition from a root shell. You need to find out if you are booting a or b slot. Then
dd if=/dev/block/by-name/boot_a of=/sdcard/patched_boot.img bs=1024k
Magisk puts old stock backups into /data. I had 4 files in there which makes it hard to know what each file is.
That's why I made sure to backup my vanilla boot image immediately.
If you're stuck without a vanilla 10.0.4.0 boot you can't do the OTA. I can upload mine somewhere when I get home tonight if it's not already online.

a1291762 said:
...If you're stuck without a vanilla 10.0.4.0 boot you can't do the OTA. I can upload mine somewhere when I get home tonight if it's not already online.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be very helpful, please

FunkmasterC said:
This would be very helpful, please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the backup I made of the 10.0.4.0 vanilla boot.img. You'll need to decompress this before flashing.
URL REMOVED

What's new on 10.0.7.0 bro? Should me wait for 10.1 update if im on 10.0.4.0 rooted?

10.0.7.0 has the March security patches. I haven't noticed any actual changes.

Thank you, your Linux commands are sick, I never know I can get the vanilla and patched boot.img like that.
Cheer~

is there an update for file version 10.0.8.0??

I only just got the notification this morning. I'll do the upgrade tonight but I expect the same process will work.

I just used the same process to go from 10.0.7.0 to 10.0.8.0. This time I was installing to slot b instead of slot a, but otherwise, things were the same.
A side note... I hadn't got around to installing TWRP 3.3.0 so I did that but it couldn't mount /data. TWRP 3.2.3 can mount /data, so I installed that again.

a1291762 said:
I just used the same process to go from 10.0.7.0 to 10.0.8.0. This time I was installing to slot b instead of slot a, but otherwise, things were the same.
A side note... I hadn't got around to installing TWRP 3.3.0 so I did that but it couldn't mount /data. TWRP 3.2.3 can mount /data, so I installed that again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have successfully updated to 10.0.8.0 with Magisk 18.1, now on Magisk 19.1, everything is running fine. I'd like to also install TWRP but refrain from doing so because of the problems (bootloops, crashes, etc) the official TWRP 3.2.3 shows with decryption in Pie and mounting external or even internal sdcard. I wonder if the latter is fixed in the inofficial fixed version. I think the benefit of TWRP is not worth the effort of repeating a1291762 wonderful tricky procedure on the monthly OTA update basis.
However the procedure is very smart, a back-to-the-roots approach of former days... great, I like it.
But I don't understand how a patched_boot.img can be created from an empty file (boot_a)?
[dd if=/dev/block/by-name/boot_a of=patched_boot.img bs=1024k] Locating the boot_a in </dev/block/by-name/> reveals a boot_a file with 0 bytes. Moreover, to unzip the zipped stock boot Image in </data/stock_boot*.img> or </sbin/.magisk/mirror/data/> I am looking for a command that just returns the boot file rather than expanding it to the full partition. Weird, can anybody help?
Thanks again to a1291762
grufty47
It appears that it is not possible to add some boot.img as attachment

grufty47 said:
I'd like to also install TWRP but refrain from doing so because of the problems (bootloops, crashes, etc) the official TWRP 3.2.3 shows with decryption in Pie and mounting external or even internal sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use official TWRP 3.2.3. Only really to fix bootloop problems.
I don't have a SD and no problems mounting data.
Lots of people following the TWRP install guide seem to get bootloop. I solve that by patching boot with Magisk. Some people recommend installing an old about image.
If you have a backup of boot you can at least restore that if you have problems.
grufty47 said:
But I don't understand how a patched_boot.img can be created from an empty file (boot_a)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to Unix, where nearly everything is a file.
Hard disk? /dev/sda
Partition? /dev/sda1
File? /mnt/sda1/file.txt
In this case, boot_a is a way to access a partition on the phone's flash. Actually a link (shortcut) to /dev/mmcblk0p52. Partition number 53 on flash chip 1. The size can't be seen because it's a device and not a file.
grufty47 said:
I am looking for a command that just returns the boot file rather than expanding it to the full partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dd is a command to read a device. The partition is 64M big so that's the size of the file. gzip can compress well because the actual image is only 24M big and the rest is empty.
Magisk knows how to do it. A tool called magiskboot but I don't know where it lives or how to run it.
I found this header from magiskboot. It shows how the boot.img is structured.
https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/blob/master/native/jni/magiskboot/bootimg.h

I just did the 10.0.9.0 OTA. I added a section of updating your patched_boot.img (since the Magisk updates I did made my old one useless) and I changed the backup instructions due to changes in Magisk 19. If you know where the stock boot lives before reboot, please let me know.

Help! How do i install a custom ROM the proper way and Root the device aftwerwards?

Hi, I am new to custom ROM's and Rooting my device. And i hope you can help me with my Problem. I have a OnePlus A6003
What i tried so far:
Before i tried installing CustomROM's my device was on OOS 10.3.0
Then i needed to use the "twrp-3.3.1-16-enchilada-Q-mauronofrio.img" to get into TWRP
in TWRP i followed the Instructions from the LinageOS site:
Now tap Wipe.
Now tap Format Data and continue with the formatting process. This will remove encryption and delete all files stored in the internal storage.
Return to the previous menu and tap Advanced Wipe, then select the System partition and then Swipe to Wipe.
Sideload the LineageOS .zip package:
On the device, select “Advanced”, “ADB Sideload”, then swipe to begin sideload.
On the host machine, sideload the package using: adb sideload filename.zip
(Optionally): If you want to install any additional add-ons, run adb reboot sideload, then adb sideload filename.zip those packages in sequence.
info_outline
Note: If you want Google Apps on your device, you must follow this step before booting into LineageOS for the first time!
(Optional): Root your device by installing LineageOS’ AddonSU, (use the arm64 package) or by using any other method you prefer.
Once you have installed everything successfully, run ‘adb reboot’.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was sure this wasn't the right way cause after i rebooted the device i couldn't get to LinageOS.
After that i could get the "twrp-installer-3.3.1-2-enchilada.zip" (The official version from the TWRP site to work)
Flashed LinageOS the proper way (that's what i thought, lol) through install in TWRP
after that i had the same problem i could boot one time into LinageOS and that was it.
Current State of the Phone:
Bootloader unlocked (check)
Recovery Mode starts LinageOS Recovery
Fastboot is working fine
TWRP is not installed
What i am basically trying to do is:
Install a Privacy Focused ROM (open for Suggestions but i think LinageOS is good)
Root with Magisk
Flash NanoDroid Packages
Flash AFWall+
Flash AdAway
Some questions that i have
Do i need the customized TWRP because my phone did originally run OOS 10.3.0?
Whats the proper way to install a ROM on this device and Root it afterwards with Magisk?

Problems after Magisk update - can only enter download mode and recovery

Hey there,
I am currently struggeling with my Samsung Galaxy S7 (Exynos) device, running on superman rom (Android 8).
What happened?
For root I´m using Magisk Manager and for banking apps I have Magisk hide running. Then the program told me that there is an update (Magisk App) available. So, as always and recommended, I choosed "Direct Install" but that failed for some reason. OK I thought´, no problem. Later I wanted to reboot my phone but it didn´t. The screen says "Downloading.... Do not turn off device!". I only can enter "Download Mode" and "Recovery Mode via TWRP".
What I tried so far:
1) Wipe cache/dalvik --> not successful
2) Tried to do a factory reset via twrp --> not successful
3) Tried to flash BL via Odin --> not successful
At this time I realised that the same problem occured to my Galaxy Tablet SM-T580. So I came to the point that I did something wrong with updating magisk on both devides.
What I also tried next:
4) Tried to delete magisk modules via twrp --> not successful
5) Tried to uninstall magisk through twrp by downloading the latest Magisk app and rename it to "uninstall.zip" as recommended in installation guide --> Not successful because of Error installing zip file: Unsupported /Unknown image format (unpacking image format)
What can I do next?
Can anyone please help me, since I have two bricked devices now????

A simple kernel flashing would fix the problem, extract the original boot.img of your current ROM, and flash it via TWRP.
Cause it is clearly a problem with your boot.img, if that didn't work (I'm sure it will), then just dirty flash your current ROM.
P.S. If you are encrypted, you might encounter an error doing a simple factory reset, you'll have to format the whole data partition.

Hi @Mohamedkam000,
many thanks for your help. After hours of browsing the web and trying various methods I was able to get my 2nd device (Samsung Galaxy Tab A from 2016) back to life.
What I did: I installed the latest samsung mobile phone drivers on my PC then I connected the tablet to it. I was able to access the internal memory and in the folder "data" Magisk put a backup of the original boot.img. So I installed this "boot.img" via TWRP and voila.......everything works fine again
I´m very happy now.
But unfortunately this method didn´t work with my Samsung Galaxy S7. I just couldn´t find any boot.img file on the phone.
Mohamedkam000 said:
A simple kernel flashing would fix the problem, extract the original boot.img of your current ROM, and flash it via TWRP.
Cause it is clearly a problem with your boot.img, if that didn't work (I'm sure it will), then just dirty flash your current ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I have to do this? Sorry I´m a little unexperienced so could I get a kind of an step by step guide please?
Mohamedkam000 said:
P.S. If you are encrypted, you might encounter an error doing a simple factory reset, you'll have to format the whole data partition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don´t understand this. Could you please explain again?
Thank you so much already.
Kind regards,
cap.

capitarider said:
Hi @Mohamedkam000,
many thanks for your help. After hours of browsing the web and trying various methods I was able to get my 2nd device (Samsung Galaxy Tab A from 2016) back to life.
What I did: I installed the latest samsung mobile phone drivers on my PC then I connected the tablet to it. I was able to access the internal memory and in the folder "data" Magisk put a backup of the original boot.img. So I installed this "boot.img" via TWRP and voila.......everything works fine again
I´m very happy now.
But unfortunately this method didn´t work with my Samsung Galaxy S7. I just couldn´t find any boot.img file on the phone.
How do I have to do this? Sorry I´m a little unexperienced so could I get a kind of an step by step guide please?
Don´t understand this. Could you please explain again?
Thank you so much already.
Kind regards,
cap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad your tablet revived again.
Magisk creates a backup of the boot.img found just before flashing magisk, it is compressed in gzip format, so you need to pull it, extract it, and push it back to the phone, then flash it.
The file is usually in /data/stock_boot_${SHA1}.img.gz
You can extract it using the built-in terminal of TWRP, if PC is not accessible at the moment by writing and executing the following command:
gunzip {stock-boot-name}.gz
Replace {stock-boot-name} with your backed-up boot name (without the curleybrackets), or you can use the following command:
gunzip *.gz
That'll extract the gzip archive, and the boot.img will be in /data of which you can navigate to it and flash it.
There's another guaranteed method, if you have the file of the ROM you're using right now, you can just open it (it's just a zip archive) and search for the boot.img of your specific phone model and flash it.
Another guaranteed method will be by flashing a custom kernel compatible with your current ROM, like Moro AiO kernel, of which has a wide support for ROMs starting from Oreo, and up to Q, AOSP, or stock-based, just in one file.
Moro's thread: Moro Kernel

you can't access kernel backup because TWRP does not support encryption and Magisk Manager might removed encryption in boot

aIecxs said:
you can't access kernel backup because TWRP does not support encryption and Magisk Manager might removed encryption in boot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't seem like he's encrypted, he found the boot backup of his tablet in /data so he has probably searched for a similar file on his S7, but since it is compressed, he won't find it solely.
Also he would've told us that his /data is empty or something.

start from scratch with older magisk, current 22 has bug
https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/issues/4008

Thank you for your help.
I had a n old twrp backup on another external hard drive. I extracted the boot file and repached it with 7zip to boot.img and flashed through twrp. That also didn´t work for various times. TWRP always said "failed".
In the end I didn´t manage it to bring my phone back to live. Anyway, I decided to flash the latest LineageOS (Android 11) and now its running smooth again.
Thanks again.

Try using sp flash tools flashing the boot.img

Magisk & Lineage = No wifi

Goodmorning everyone. I have a problem with magisk and lineageos 18.1
I have a xiaomi mi mix 2 unlocked
Premise: I've never had any problems with magisk and lineage until now.
I installed magisk scrupulously following the official instructions and using both the boot.img patch system and the direct installation via recovery (adb sideload & lineage recovery)
In both cases magisk appears as not installed when looking from magisk manager and the wifi stops working (the phone connects to the various networks I have tried but reveals them as without internet.)
clearing cache does nothing
resetting network connections does nothing
Updating to the latest version of the radio firmware does nothing
restore boot.img OR reinstall lineage corrects the problem
In all cases I don't get root ...
Honestly, everything is beyond my understanding .. can you help me?

Ork_77 said:
Goodmorning everyone. I have a problem with magisk and lineageos 18.1
I have a xiaomi mi mix 2 unlocked
Premise: I've never had any problems with magisk and lineage until now.
I installed magisk scrupulously following the official instructions and using both the boot.img patch system and the direct installation via recovery (adb sideload & lineage recovery)
In both cases magisk appears as not installed when looking from magisk manager and the wifi stops working (the phone connects to the various networks I have tried but reveals them as without internet.)
clearing cache does nothing
resetting network connections does nothing
Updating to the latest version of the radio firmware does nothing
restore boot.img OR reinstall lineage corrects the problem
In all cases I don't get root ...
Honestly, everything is beyond my understanding .. can you help me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems to me like you aren't properly flashing the patched boot.img. What method are you using to flash the patched boot.img?

Droidriven said:
It seems to me like you aren't properly flashing the patched boot.img. What method are you using to flash the patched boot.img?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used both the method I'm aware of
1) I install magisk manager, extract the boot.img from lineage zip, upload it to the phone, patch it with magisk manager (operation ends fine), pass the modified version back to the pc reboot the phone in recovery and install the new boot with adb (installation ends correctly).
2) I rename the magisk app as .zip and then I install it through recovery
The result is the same.
In the past (with lineage 17) i always used the second method and I lived happy and with root for years.

Ork_77 said:
I used both the method I'm aware of
1) I install magisk manager, extract the boot.img from lineage zip, upload it to the phone, patch it with magisk manager (operation ends fine), pass the modified version back to the pc reboot the phone in recovery and install the new boot with adb (installation ends correctly).
2) I rename the magisk app as .zip and then I install it through recovery
The result is the same.
In the past (with lineage 17) i always used the second method and I lived happy and with root for years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you have TWRP, you don't need the patched boot.img.
The Magisk Manager app has the root binaries built in now, all you should need to do is a Magisk Manager flashable zip.
Read this:
The Magisk Manager APK can now be flashed from within TWRP
Magisk is now distributed as part of the Manager APK, meaning you no longer need to flash a separate ZIP file from a custom recovery.
www.xda-developers.com

...

Droidriven said:
Since you have TWRP, you don't need the patched boot.img.
The Magisk Manager app has the root binaries built in now, all you should need to do is a Magisk Manager flashable zip.
Read this:
The Magisk Manager APK can now be flashed from within TWRP
Magisk is now distributed as part of the Manager APK, meaning you no longer need to flash a separate ZIP file from a custom recovery.
www.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes...this is exatcly what I did.
Method 2.

Ork_77 said:
Yes...this is exatcly what I did.
Method 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said that you converted the apk into a flashable zip. I think you should be able to find a MagiskManager.zip that is prepackaged for you to download and flash.
Also, if you use the patched boot.img method, you should rename the patched boot.img to "boot.img", then place the boot.img in your fastboot folder on PC. Then right click inside the fastboot folder and choose the option to open a cmd terminal, then boot your device into fastboot mode, connect your device to PC, type the following command:
fastboot devices(press enter)
If it returns a serial number, you are connected. Next, type the following command:
fastboot flash boot boot.img(press enter)
This should flash the patched boot.img correctly. Then reboot the device to system and try installing the Magisk Manager apk file from your internal storage instead of flashing it as a zip in recovery. If that doesn't work, try flashing the apk as a zip in recovery, wipe cache and dalvik cache after flashing the zip(DO NOT FACTORY RESET OR FORMAT ANYTHING), then reboot to system and see if it works correctly.

Droidriven said:
You said that you converted the apk into a flashable zip. I think you should be able to find a MagiskManager.zip that is prepackaged for you to download and flash.
Also, if you use the patched boot.img method, you should rename the patched boot.img to "boot.img", then place the boot.img in your fastboot folder on PC. Then right click inside the fastboot folder and choose the option to open a cmd terminal, then boot your device into fastboot mode, connect your device to PC, type the following command:
fastboot devices(press enter)
If it returns a serial number, you are connected. Next, type the following command:
fastboot flash boot boot.img(press enter)
This should flash the patched boot.img correctly. Then reboot the device to system and try installing the Magisk Manager apk file from your internal storage instead of flashing it as a zip in recovery. If that doesn't work, try flashing the apk as a zip in recovery, wipe cache and dalvik cache after flashing the zip(DO NOT FACTORY RESET OR FORMAT ANYTHING), then reboot to system and see if it works correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Droidriven, thank you for your answers. Perhaps, synthesizing my steps too much, I gave the impression of not being particularly capable in computer science (you even tell me to press "enter" after commands ...). Well, let's say it's not my case.
All steps are performed correctly.
all steps end without errors.
No matter what I do, in the end Magisk appears as n / a, I don't have root, and the data connection doesn't work. Small addition about the latter aspect: when rebooting the wifi connection works for a variable time between 10 and 20 seconds, after which the network appears as without internet (or intranet) but the phone remains connected.
At the reboot, history repeats itself
Restoring the original boot everything returns to normal.